The instructions for assembling the Pi v3 and the previous acrylic Pi SAFE are quite similar. The only difference between the models is the location of the LED light pipes, so these Pi3 instructions apply generally to all Pi SAFE versions.
1. Your Parts!
8 x 4-40 nuts
8 x 4-40 x 3/8" bolts
2 x Clear acrylic light-pipes
4 x Black acrylic spacers
6 x Black acrylic SAFE sides (shown here with brown protective paper already removed)
0 x Raspberry Pi (sorry - not included in the kit!)
2. The Baseplate
Find 4 of the 4-40 x 3/8" bolts, and put them through the baseplate, and press the spacers on from the other side. Thee bolts will sort of stay put until you can get the Raspberry Pi on the baseplate. (If adding to a VESA mount, do only 2 diagonal screws)
3. Adding the Raspberry Pi
Slide the Raspberry Pi onto the bolts. The Pi is designed for metric M3 hardware, but we're still using imperial #4 hardware, which is a smidge bigger. The bolts may need to be screwed through the holes in the Pi.
Add the #4 nuts, and tighten them down.
4. Adding 3 of the 4 Sides
Arrange the sides as shows. The sideplate on the top in this image has the long cutout to accommodate a ribbon cable from the 40-pin expansion port. The front faceplate on the right (with the label engravings face-down) is for the communications side. The sideplate on the bottom has the ports for the power, video, and audio I/O.
Align them all up on the baseplate, and use a pair of 4-40 nuts and bolts to lock them in place.
5. Adding the SD-Card / LightPipe Faceplate
Lay the final side faceplate face-down beside the assembly, and pop the clear lightpipe parts out of their holder. It is not necessary to strip the paper off this part.
Sandwich the two lightpipes together, and push them into the lightpipe indicator hole. They will sit a bit loose until the faceplate is attached to the baseplate.
Carefully assemble this assembly to the baseplate, and finish attaching it with the remaining 4-40 nuts and bolts.
Step 6: Top Plate mounting
Notch the top plate into the slots in the rear faceplate, and gently flex the frontplate out to let the tab snap into place. You're ready to power up, with full access to the indication LEDs on the Pi mainboard via the lightpipes!
Besides introducing a whole new batch of Push-Pogopins (and their measurements) into the 'misc' category, we've just introduced our 'D2' Germanium Diode. This diode is pretty good - better than the 1N270 and 1N34 types, with a voltage dropout of only 0.36V at 50mA! We're not exactly sure what type it is, but since we […]
After 5 years of employment with Solarbotics Ltd., Grant McKee has submitted his letter of resignation to Solarbotics, effective August 16th 2005. Mr. McKee has been an invaluable resource at Solarbotics, but is off to hunker down and gather resources before making the leap to further advance his education. Although he will be greatly missed, […]
The idea of adorning oneself with glowing bits has been around forever, but instead of smearing ourselves with phosphorescent jellyfish or placing fireflies in ears like some uncivilized cavemen we went for simple LED earrings. We made a build that involves a simple slow-scroll RGB LED and a few reflective bits to bounce that pretty […]
We're sorry to see Becky go off to work with her husband on their own endevours, but that's ok; we have Robin now - a most worthy replacement. Bye Becky - we'll miss you! Come back sometime and say hi to Robin, ok?
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!
Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.
Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.